AMY KHOR

Politician

Passionate about: The environment

FOR the past eight years, this petite, stately politician has been getting her hands dirty to promote the green cause.

Just last week, Dr Amy Khor, Mayor of the South-West District, participated in a charitable recycling programme where old clothes and used paper were collected to raise funds for needy students.

Said Dr Khor, who is also the Senior Parliamentary Secretary (SPS) for the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources (MEWR): “It’s not unglamorous. I’ve never thought about it that way. I’m just trying to do my part, because we only have one Earth, and one Singapore. We ought to be concerned about the environment.”

She said that it was only after she was appointed Mayor and the SPS for MEWR that her interest in the environment grew.

“A strange thing happened to me as I dug deeper into the issues. The environment seemed to ‘grow’ on me,” said Dr Khor.

“It became a virtuous circle of growing awareness leading to deeper interest and alarm, which in turn drove me to dig even deeper.”

It also helped that “the enthusiasm from our volunteers was so contagious”, she added.

She said: “They are as passionate about the environment as the guys were about a whole refrigerated beer wardrobe in the Heineken advertisement.”

With the volunteers’ help, she has launched several programmes, such as the Trash for Groceries programme, which encourages residents to exchange their recyclable trash for grocery coupons.

The Trash-for-Groceries recycling programme, started by Dr Khor eight years ago, is now a district-wide event held annually.

She said: “The event is now viewed by residents as a staple community event that they constantly look forward to.

“If we are late in putting up the banners, some residents will ask if we are organising the event that year.

“Once there was this family who brought down 500 kg of old clothes which they exchanged for 500 kg of rice. Such is the level of enthusiasm.”

She has also set the goal of planting a million native plants in the South-West District within 10 years.

Family

Even her family members have been “converted”, said Dr Khor.

Her children remind her to turn off the main switch of her computer to save electricity, while her mother recycles used cooking oil, which is used to make bio-diesel for cars.

While there are those who doubt that she can achieve her goals and sceptics who argue that tree planting and lifestyle adjustments are only cosmetic, Dr Khor is pushing on with her cause.

She said: “The passion of the volunteers for the environment rubs off on me, and the little successes we have enjoyed spur us on.

“I believe that incremental steps and small behavioural adjustments can contribute towards reducing the extent of the problems confronting us.

“Every little bit counts.”

This article was first published in The New Paper.